Firstwatch: Hard times behind bars and on the snow; and a princess in our midst

No Super Bowl, no Badger game and no Disney on Ice. Hard time keeps getting harder for the local hood once dubbed the "pious pusher."

Milwaukee crime boss Michael Lock is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on his mortgage fraud conviction, after a year-long delay. Lock has been biding his time as a guest of the state, behind bars, serving a life sentence for murder, drug dealing and kidnapping.

Former swim instructor Daniel Acker is likely to join Lock in incarceration after his sentencing on a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Acker, 62, a longtime resident of West Allis who now lives in Madison, faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.

Seandell Jackson is a young man facing a similar stretch behind bars. The 18-year-old will put his fate before a jury, after closing arguments in his first-degree intentional homicide trial. Authorities allege Jackson killed college student Nathan Potter during a robbery in Riverwest last summer.

That Disney show those fellows will miss hits the ice in the U.S. Cellular Arena this weekend. Princess Classics will feature Cinderella, Jasmine from “Aladdin,” Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” Sleeping Beauty, Belle from “The Beauty and the Beast,” Mulan and Snow White.

Of course someone will be announcing their Disney plans late Sunday, after Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. Read this to wow your party mates with fascinating big-game history.

A group of less-acclaimed athletes will be in action on Saturday morning, in the 22nd running of the John Dick Memorial Crusty 50K in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest. That's a whole different form of hard time.

About Tom Held

A reporter with the Journal Company since 1985. Covered police, local government, non-profits, major crimes and disasters.
Created Off the Couch blog in 2006 and expanded coverage of outdoor recreation.